25 Days of Weird Christmas: Life Day, a very Jedi Christmas

Ten points to whoever can name the orator of these wise holiday words:

No Matter how different we appear, we’re all the same in our struggle against the powers of evil and darkness. I hope this day will always be a day of joy in which we can reconfirm our dedication and our courage, and more than anything else our love for one another.

This holiday blessing came from the intergalactic princess with the Cinnabun hair for the celebration of Life Day–a Wookie holiday that first appeared on the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. The first official Star Wars spin-off since the franchise’s premier, the holiday special has produced ire from fans and forced memory repression from the people responsible for creating it. George Lucas has publically expressed vehement remorse about the special’s existence and will refuse interviews having anything to do with the Holiday Special. It earned a spot on Slate’s Worst Christmas Specials of all time and holds a uncomfortable place in the Star Wars Canon. It’s easy to understand why.

The very convoluted plot involves Chewbacca trying get back to his home planet in time for the holidays, the Wookie festival of Life Day. His family includes a cast of less than charismatic, and poorly named, Wookies–Malla, Itchy and Lumpy. Meanwhile, variety show type guest appearances abound by such 1970s personas as Bea Arthur, who sings a bar song with a gang of tipsy aliens, Jefferson Starship, appearing in a 3D music video for the Imperial Guards, and singer Diahann Carroll, in a porny virtual reality vision for Itchy, the dirty old man Wookie. Very, very weird. In this clip, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia sings the “Life Day” song to John Williams’ score, Harrison Ford shares with Chewbaca the proverbially “I love you, man” moment, Wookies groan in what seems to constipation, and even the droids look uncomfortable.

This could very well be a segment from one of the worst two hours on television ever produced, but there’s something about it I find kind of intriguing, even delightful. Maybe I’ve always been a sucker for Wookies, even Lumpy the mal-formed little one; maybe I secretly wish Carrie Fisher would pet my stomach; maybe the visibly awkward and pained faces of Harrison Ford and Mark Hamil remind me of the forced smiles of countless holiday family portraits, but I think Life Day could be kind of neat.

If we give it a chance, Life Day might be a great addition to our modern holiday practices. Since the Jedi Church has seen nothing but growth in the last decade, Life Day could be the next Festivus. We’ve already got a cook book to use for preparing a Life Day feast and themed album to cozy up with in our traditional Life Day red robes. Heck, would it really be any stranger than the space opera?

The Star Wars Christmas Special aired on this day, December 17th, in 1978. I think today would be a great day to begin the tradition. So, happy Life Day everyone, or in the immortal words of Chewbacca: “Rawwwwrrrrrrr.”